Ex-BT boss bags £9 MILLION bye-bye bundle, moves to key gov post

BT's former boss Ian Livingston just received an extremely generous leaving present from the telecoms giant – 2.6 million shares in the company worth about £8.9m.

Earlier this month, Livingston left BT for his new, unpaid job in the House of Lords as Prime Minister David Cameron's Minister of State for Trade and Investment.

The life peer, whose title is Baron Livingston of Parkhead, is probably now one of the wealthiest men in government despite his non-salaried position in Parliament.

BT's new boss, Gavin Patterson, meanwhile, has been granted the same base wage packet as his predecessor: £925,000.

"This salary continues to be positioned in the lower half of the pay range for CEOs of companies of a similar size and complexity," BT said.

It added that the structure of its chief's bonus was changing to ensure that Patterson remains laser-focused on delivering good results for the company over the long term.

"The maximum bonus based on one year’s performance is to be substantially reduced, with a corresponding increase in the potential maximum reward for meeting challenging targets over three years," BT said.

The company's cash and deferred shares bonus for a year's performance that hits targets laid down by BT's board will be slashed from 250 per cent of base salary to 120 per cent.

But Patterson's potential long-term bonus could jump 400 per cent, compared with Livingston who was eligible for a 240 per cent leap if he performed well at BT over a number of years.

BT said its remuneration committee "felt it was appropriate" for Livingston to receive the 2.6 million shares from the telco in recognition of his "major contribution" to the company's turnaround.

In recent days, BT's share price has rocketed to a 12-year high. Shares in BT are currently trading at 344.64p, meaning Livingston's stash is worth close to £9m. ®